Self-aligning pump flange



Sept. 14, 1948. P. B. MILLER SELF-ALIGNING PUMP FLANGE Filed Oct. 10,1944 I I l 1 l I n u fNVENTOl? qL/L BURT M/LLEI? Haze/s, K/ECH, f'bsTERdiHARMs Fae Tf/E HR ,4 TTOENE Y6 Patented Sept. 14, 1948 SELF- ALIGNINGPUMP GE Paul em Miller, Los Angeles, cant, assignor to Pacific Pumps,Inc., Huntington Park, Califl, a corporation of California ApplicationOctober 10, 1944, Serial No. 557,952

My invention relates to a self-aligning pump flange and to a novelflexible connection between a pipe and a flange.

In installing centrifugal pumps of the horizon,- tal shaft type, it is aconventional practice to connect the inlet and discharge pipes tocorresponding inlet and discharge flanges of the pump. These flanges areusually castintegrally with the pump housing. The intake and dischargepipes usually carry pipe flanges which are bolted to the pump flanges.If the flanges are slightly misaligned, tightening of the bolts willcause a tendency for the pump elements to become disaligned and the pumphousing to be disaligned with respect to the prime mover, with theresult that critical alignments are destroyed, producing undue frictionand early failure of parts. The same disalignments often arise fromexpansive or other movement of the inlet and discharge pipes after beingconnected to the pump. Similar problems 9 Claims. (01. 235-435) arise inthe connecting of the discharge pipe to i the pump head of a deep wellcentrifugal pump.

To cure such difliculties, it has been proposed to connect the pipetothe pump by use of a flexible coupling. A typical widely used couplingincludes a pipe flange bolted to the pump fiange 5 and internallythreaded to receive a short pipe nipple. The main section of the pipe isspaced from the end of this nipple and a fluid-tight seal is effected byuse of a sleeve telescoping with the nipple andthe pipe and havingflared ends, each and connected by clamps to the pipe and nipple.

1 Such pipe couplings are not only expensive but are verydisadvantageousin those instances where space considerations are important. Itis oftendesirable to employ a pipe turn, elbow, or bent pipe immediatelybeyondthe pump flange, p-articularly in those instances where theincoming or discharged liquid must be deflected sharply into or from thepump in view of limited space, yet this is impossible with the usualflexible coupling, the sleeve of which is at least .6-8.,.long and whichrequires use of a straight section of pipe or nipple at least 12" long.topermit coupling and uncoupling.

- It is an object of the present invention to pro vide aflexiblecoupling-occupying a minimum of 2 I l space and permitting asharply-bent pipe, pipe turn, etc., to be connected directly to :a pumpflange. 1

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel flexible joint forconnecting a pipe to a standard flange, without the necessity ofexpensive machining of the flange.

-A further object is to provide a novel connection between a pipe and apump which will not transmit bending moments from the pipe to the pumpto disalign the pump and the prime mover or to disalign the pumpelements. l

A further object is to provide a novel sealing means between a pipe anda. flange which increases its sealing action as the pipe tends to be.drawn away from the flange, which is extremely simple and which effectslarge savings in cost in the manufacture and installation of piping. lThe invention is not limited to use in combination with a pump but isapplicable to the joining of pipe to various flanges of standard con-Figure 2 is a sectional view of one embodiment of the invention, takenalong the line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an outline view, partially in section,.of a pump head for adeep well pump incorporating the invention; and

Figures 4 and 5 are sectional views similar to Figure 2 showingalternative forms of the invention.

The problem noted above is exemplified with reference to the horizontalcentrifugal pump l0 shown in Figure 1, this pump being driven by anelectric motor ll through a suitable drive connection l2. Pumps of thistype usually include a housing or casing 13 in which one or moreimpellers rotate. This housing or casing 13 is suitably connected to afoot plate M secured to a least iron or structural steel base Ma bybolts l5.

Dowels I6, extending into the base Ma, are often used to aid inmaintaining alignment between the pump and the motor H, the latter beingalso bolted and doweled to the base Ma in conventional practice. Evenwith such rigid base concollar.

the necessity of sh'arp t'urns in the intake and dis-- charge pipingclose to the pump flanges I8" or l9, and Figure 1 indicates the pipes'20 and 2| as turning sharply close to the respective pump flanges.

It is a feature of the present invention that standard flanges, l8 andla-for-example, can be' employed. Thus, in Figure 2, the pump flange i9is shown as a standard flange including a flat attachment surface whichmay be a machined surface or, if desired, a rough surface resulting"from casting oftheflange integrally with the casing I3. The flange l9provides a passage 26, shown as aligned with a passage 2'! of a pipe,

indicated generally by the numeral 28 andshown as: comprising a pipeturn29 having a forward end 30 disposed-in close proximity to theattachment' surface 25. Before moving the pipe turn 29-into'thisposition,a sealing ring- 32 and a collar '33 are disposed around thepipe.

Thesealing ring 32 is formed of deformable material and is preferably'aone-piece annular ring; substantially triangular in cross section in theembodiment of 'Figure2. It provides an inner cylindrical'surface-M of-adiameter capable of being slipped over the end'ofthe pipe 28 to en'-gage the peripheral surfacethereof. It provides also asubstantiallyradial surface 35, usually extending substantially at right angles tothe inner cylindrical surface 34 andadapted to lie in surface contactwith the attachment surface 25. Finally, the sealing ring 32 provides asloping an- .nu lar surface 36, converging inwardly towardthe axis ofthe: end of the pipe 28 in a direction away from the end; Intheembodiment of Figure 2,

the sloping annular surface 36 is conical although, if desired, it maybe curvedwhen viewed in' section'so long as itis of a shape-converginginwardly-away from the pump flange IS.

pressing the sealing ring 32 around the pipe and against the attachmentsurface 25 upon movement of the'collar toward the attachment surface, asby tightening nuts M connected to bolts extending through the flangeland the collar 33; To accomplish this, the collar 33'provides a cavity44 receiving at least a portion of the sealing ring 32;. In theembodiment of-Figure 2, this cavitpprovides a tapered wall correspondinggenerally in shape to the sloping annular surface 3B be sufli'cientlyclose to the attachment surface to prevent excessive flowof the ringmaterial into This collar provides means-for comthe intervening space.The permissible maximum spacing depends upon the material of which thesealing ring is formed, the pressures to be sealed against, etc.However, in general, spacings up to a quarter of an inch or more canusually be ac-- commodated.

The inner opening is sufiiciently larger than the periphery of the pipeto permit slight flexing of the pipe with respect to the collar 33-. During such flexing, one peripheral portion of the end"30 may, come closerto the attachment sur* face 25 than a diametrically opposed portion butthe compressed sealing ring accommodates such movement while maintainingan effective seal. Such movement of the pipe 28, accommodated by thesealing ring 32, is thus not transmitted to the flange l9 and thedisalignment tendencies noted above are thereby eliminated. At the sametime, the pipe 28 can be turned sharply close to the flange Is, asd-i'stinguishedfrom' prior constructions inwhich a'relatively. longlength of pipe must intervene to give space: for a conventional flexiblecoupling;

It should be noted also thaltthe sealing-action of the flexible jointshown in Figure 2- increases withincreased hydraulic pressure in'thepipe 28, tending to move: the pipe-turn 29 leftward and out of thecollar '33 Such hydraulic forces-applied to the pipe turn-tend toincrease the sealing action between the. periphery of the pipe turn andthe sealing ring 32 in view of the tapered nature of the ring; Inpractice; flexible joints of this type have been testedat pressures inexcess of lbs/sq. in., the sealingiaction being maintained withoutauxiliary clamps between the pipe and the pump flange 1 9, thetestconditions being such that use of" the conventional flexiblejoint notedabove would have requiredv auxiliary clamping meansbetween the nippleand the pipe to prevent: separation and destruction of the sealingaction. The type of flexible seal shown-in Figure 2 can readily. bedesigned to seal effectively a pressureof 116,0 lbs./sq.-in. ormcre, upto a total thrust of 5000 pounds ormore applied to the pipe. turn;

In pumps designed for-pressuring'water at relatively low temperature,the sealing ring 32 may be formed of 'natural or synthetic rubber. Synthetie rubberis: preferred also in the pumping of fluids such asgasoline. In either instance, however, the sealing ring. can be; formedof other'ductile material, such as a relatively'soft metal deformable tosome-extent under pressure, e. g1, lead orvarious alloys; preferablynon-corrosive with respectto thepumpedllquid. When pumpingchightemperature liquids at low orxhigh pressures; thesealing ring; 321s,formed of a material capable of withstanding the temperatures inlvolved,e; g, it, may be formed-of analloy such as'Monel metalor-other'relatively soft and compressible metal'suflicientlyductile toform? an efiective seal aroun'dthe periphery of theypipe, ever-r thoughvthisr periphery is not machined smooth, and I against theattachmentsurf-ace 25, even not machined. While aperipherallyunitarysealing ring 32-i-s desired; it should be understood thatia split-typering can be employed, particularlyif the ring, is split at anganglerather than parallelto its: central axis, e. g-.; to providesurfa'ces'disposed helically with respect to the central axis sothat'they come into surface contact with each other when the collar 33is forced into position.

In Figure 3is shown the adaption of'theflexible scaling arrangement ofFigure 2 with the i is pump'head of'a deep wellcentrifugal pump. The

showing is diagrammatic but indicates generally apump head 50 disposedabove a well cavity having a casing 5|. A motor 52 turns a drive shaft53 which isc'onnectedto the usual impellers of a centrifugal pumpsubmerged in the well liquid. The pumped liquid moves upward through apump tubing 55 and discharges through elbow 56 providing a pump flange51 corresponding to the pump flange IQ of Figure 2. Thepipe 28 andthesealing arrangement are as described withreference to Figure 2. Hereagain, any disalignment prior to or after connection of the pipe 28 isprevented by the flexible joint, and the pipe can be turned sharply fromthe joint as previously described.

' Figure '4 shows an alternative construction in which the sealing ring,here indicated by the numeral 60, extends substantially completelythrough the collar 33. In this embodiment, the

cavity of the collar is bounded by a tapered wall 6| which is curved insection and which may,

for example, be frusto-spherical, converging inwardly away from theflange l9. This configuration can also be used as to the cavity wall ofFigure 2 without departing from the spirit of the invention. I

In the embodiment of Figure 4, a ring-confining element 63 is disposedbetween the outer periphery of the sealing ring 60 and the'tapered Thisring-confining element provides a forward edge 64 engaging theattachment surface 25 of the flange I9, and thus confining outwardexpansion of the sealing ring 66 completely to the attachment surface.In addition, the engagement between the forward edge 64 of thering-confining element 63 and the attachment surface 25 insures relativesliding movement between the outer periphery of this element and thetapered'wall 6| when the nuts 4| are tightened,

thus tending to avoid shearing. strains on the sealing rin 60 duringtightening of the joint. The ring-confining element 63 is preferablyformed so as to be collapsible without peripheral rippling when the nuts4| are tightened. This can be accomplished by making the element of thindeformable material, such as brass, lead, copper, aluminum, etc.Usually, the hardness and ductility of the material forming thisring-confining element are intermediate in hardness and ductilitybetween the material forming the sealing ring 60 and the collar 33.

In the alternative embodiment shown in Figure 5, the ring-confiningelement is indicated by the numeral 13 and provides a forward edge 14engaging the attachment surface 25 of the flange l9. confining element13 extends slidably into anannular channel 15 of the collar 33, thischannel being of suflicient depth to provide an unoccupied space 16 atthe rear end of the ring-confining .element so as not to restrictmovement of the collar 33 toward the flange l9 when the nuts 4| aretightened. In this embodiment, the tapered wall of the collar 33 isindicated by the numeral 11, being frusto-conical and convergingrearwardly or away from the flange 19. As in Figure 2,

the inner opening 46 of the collar 33 is sufficiently larger than thepipe periphery to permit some degree of relative movement. The sealingring in the embodiment of Figure 5 is indicated by the numeral 18 andprovides a sloping annular surface IQengaging the tapered wall 11bounding the cavity of the.collar.33.:.When installed, the

sealing ring 18 will have a cross section substan- "'6 tiallytrapezoidal-in shape. ,Tightening-ofthe nuts 4|. will compress theforward surface of the The rear portion of this cylindrical ring-- ring18 against the attachment surface 25 of the flange l9. At the same time,the sealing ring .will be compressed around the'periphery ofthe pipe andthis ring will .be preventedfrom outward movement between the collar 33and theflange H! by the presence of the ring-confining element 13.

In all of the embodiments, it should be understood that the sealingring, is preferably formed ,ofcross-sectional shape similar to its crosssection in compressed position, as shown in Figures 2, 4, and 5,respectively. However, this isnot essential to the invention,particularly if rubber or other readily-deformable material is used informing the sealing ring, as the ring will be compressed into itsillustrated form by tightening of the nuts 4!. Also, in eachoftheemb-odiments, it is sometimes desirable, though not essential, toembedin the sealing ring 32 one or more reinforcing ring's disposedwithin the sealingrin'g' at any of the positions where two faces of thesealing ring meet angularly. For example, Figuref2 shows anannularreinforcing ring I06 embedded in the sealing ring 32 close to thejunction of the internal cylindrical surface 34 and the radial portionor surface .35, and tends to restrict excessive compression oflthematerial of the sealing ring intoany peripheral space between the end 30of the pipe and the attachment surface 25. A similar reinforcing ringllll is embedded in the sealing ring nearthe apex of the acute anglebetween the radial portion 35 and the sloping annular portion36.Asimilar reinforcing ring I03 is shown in Figure 4 as embedded near therear end of the sealing ring. Figure 5 shows a reinforcing ring I06corresponding in position to the ring I60 of Figure 2, and anotherreinforcing ring I01 near the toe of the trapezoidal section, similar tothe ring I 03 of Figure 4., In all instances, these rings can beembeddedduring forming of the sealing ring. They may comprise a closed loop ofwire with ends either connected or separate. Alternatively, such wiremaybe bent helically into spring-like. form, the longitudinal axis of thehelix surrounding the pipe 28, the reinforcing element being then ofadoughnut-likeshape.

involved as the invention can be used with standard flanges,it beingunnecessary to groove these flanges or even to machine the attachmentsurface 25. Use of the invention eliminates many of the parts of thepreviously mentioned flexible coupling of conventional design, requiresno threading of any pipe section, and eliminates the pipe nipple, thesleeve, one seal, and the gland interconnection previously mentioned,not, to mention miscellaneousitems, such as auxiliary tie rods, bolts,nuts, etc. ,It also results in a very substantial saving in space andmakes possible the turning of apipe closeto the flange while stillproviding flexibility and preventing transfer of pipe, stresses to theflange or its connected 'Various changes and modifications canv be madewithout departing from the spirit of the invention as I defined in theappended claims.

I claim asmy invention:

' I. ma devicefor flexibly connectinga pipeto apump flange topreventdisalignment due to forces transmittedto the pump from thepipe and toperm'it'attachment of a pipe turning sharply close to the flange, saidpipe providing an end adjacent a fiat'attachmentsurface of said pumpflange; said device including in combination: a sealing ring formed ofdeformable material surrounding said pipe at said endand providing aninner cylindrical surface adapted to surround and engage the peripheryof saidpipeimmediate- 'ly adjacent said end andproviding anoutwardlyextending surface adapted to engage'said attachment surface ofsaid pump" flange; and clamp meansmovable with respect to saidpipeandsaid pump flange'for simultaneously compressing said sealing ring insealing engagement with said periphery of said pipe and saidattachmentsurface of said pump flange.

2. A combination as defined in claim I, in which at least a portion ofthe'periphery of said end of said pipe is, spaced a slight distance from"said attachment surface to leave a peripheral space. and in which saidsealing ring extends slightlybeyondsaid end of'said pipe to seal saidperipheral space.

3. In a device for flexibly connecting a pipe to a pump flange toprevent disalignmentdue to forces transmitted to thepump from the pipeand to permit attachment of a pipe turning sharply close to the flange;said pipe providing an end adjacent a single flat substantially radialattachment surface of said pump flange, said device including incombination: a sealing ring formed of deformable material surroundingsaid pipe at said end and providing an inner cylindrical surface adaptedto engage the periphery of said pipe immediately adjacent said end, asubstantially radial surface adapted to engage said attachment surfaceof said pump flange, and a sloping annular surface converging in wardlytoward the axis of said end of said pipe in a direction away from saidend; and a movable collar surrounding said pipe at a section adjacentsaid end and providing a cavity-for receivingat least a portion of saidsealing ring, said collar providingmeans for compressing said ringaround said pipe and against said attachment -s1.u'face of said flangeupon movement of said collar toward said attachment surface.

- 4. A combination as in claim 3 wherein said "movable'collar isprovided with a central opening adapted to receive said end of said pipeand 7 being slightly larger in diameterthan the diameter of said pipewhereby to permit a limited amount of angular movement of the pipe withrespect to the axis of said pump-flange to care for slight misalignmentwithout destroying the sealing action of the device, said collar beingrelatively short to permit corresponding tipping action of said end ofsaid'pipe in said central opening without destroying said sealingaction, said 'e'nd of said pipeloeing slightly spaced from said flatradial attachment surface, and said means provided by said collarincluding means for" securing said collar to said pump flange;

5. A combination as in claim 4 wherein said deformable sealing ring issubstantially triangw- 'lar incross-section thereby providing threeannular surfaces one of which three surfaces constltutesvsaid radialsurface ofsaid ring tonn gagersaid radial :attachmentnsurface of saidpump flangepanother of which three surfaces. constitutes saidinner'cylindrical surface to engage the periphery of said pipe, and thethird of which three surfaces is said sloping ccnverging'surface and-isa continuously sloping surface angularly disposed with respect to saidpipe end, said collar having a corresponding inner continuously s1op-.ingannular. surface to engage said continuously slopingsurfaceof saidsealing ring, whereby said collar compresses said sealing ring by reasonof said continuously sloping surface against said periphery of said pipeand against said flat radial attachment surface: of said pump .fiange,and whereby internal pressure within said'pipe tends to compress said.sealing, ring againstsaid sloping annular'surface of said collar.

6. A combination as defined in claim 3,: in which said means includes anannular wall bounding said cavity and a ring-confining element incontact with said annular wall on one side andin contact with saidsealing ring on the other side.

7.. A combination as defined in claim 3, in which said means includes anannular wall bounding said cavity and a ring-confining element incontact with said annular wall on one sideand in contact with saidsealing ring on the other side,said ring-confining element engaging saidattachment surface of said flange and said collar 'Eeing movable withrespect to said ringoonfirn'ng element when said collar is moved toward!said attachment surface.

8. In a device for flexibly sealing the end of a pipe to anoutwardly-extending single 'flat radial attachment surface: a collarloosely surrounding said pipe, said ccllar'providing a cavity boundedby'a tapered wall converging in a direction away from said attachmentsurface, the periphery of said pipe vforming another boundary Wall ofsaid cavity, said cavity opening on: said attachment surface; asealingring in. said cavity, said ring being approximately triangular incross-section and providing a fiat annular face atone end to engage saidflat radial attachment surface; and means for moving said collar towardsaid attachment surface to compress said sealing ring in said cavity andpress same" against the periphery of said pipe and against saidattachment surface.

9. A combination as defined in claim '8, including a ring-confiningelement providing a forward edge engaging said attachment surface andmovable with respect to said collar to con- "fine the material of saidsealing'ring against outward movement between said collar and saidattachment surface.

PAUL BURT REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in thefile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 802,076 Hindsdale Oct. 1'7Q19051f,1'l2,;760 Boosey Oct. 6, 1914 2347,0131 Morton s- June 24, 1941FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date" 1162 Great Britain Jan. 19, 18931,236 Austria I900

